Steven Smith, an engineer with Information Management Services (IMS) provided a blunt assessment of the streets in Fountain Hills when making a presentation to the Town Council on April 16.

It is like you are sitting on the beach on a nice sunny day, not seeing that out there, off shore, there is a tsunami approaching, Smith told the council.

The IMS study of the roadway conditions in town indicate a current and overall pavement condition index (PCI) of 60, with an acceptable backlog of 5 percent. Smith said the objective for a sustainable pavement management program is 60 to 65 PCI.

However, Smith said the maintenance program for the town has reached a point where it is on a very slippery slope.

He said if the town continues maintenance with its current $2 million per year budget, in 10 years the result will be a marginal to fair PCI of 50, with backlog reaching 45 percent. Those conditions are unsustainable for the town, according to Smith.

IMS drove every street in town to assess the pavement condition. Smith said conditions are rapidly deteriorating to the poor to very poor PCI range.

There are eight miles of streets in Fountain Hills that can be considered the worst condition. Smith did not recommend spending money on significant repairs on these streets unless they become a safety hazard. These are the projects that should be deferred, Smith said.

A large portion of the streets are in the 40 to 50 PCI range, or marginal condition. These streets are salvageable and should be the priority for maintenance, according to Smith.

About 37 percent of the streets fall into the range of “good,” “very good” and “excellent” condition. The excellent rank for Fountain Hills, with an 85 to 100 PCI score, accounts for about 11 percent of the streets; still below a target minimum of 15 percent.

Smith suggests a minimum target PCI for all streets in town at 60, but preferably 65 or greater.

Arterial and collector streets are currently in the best condition, with a PCI of 70 for arterials and 65 for collectors. The town should plan for surface treatment of these streets to maintain their condition, according to Smith.

Keeping up

The IMS report establishes a “backlog” parameter defined as any street that is past the point of surface-based rehabilitation and requiring a deep rehab project.

According to IMS the current $2 million budget for street maintenance would result in an “unsustainable” 45 percent backlog within 10 years. The report states that even with $3.6 million in annual funding, the backlog is still “unmanageable” at 30 percent.

The projection after 10 years using the proposed $6 million funding, if a primary property tax is approved, has a “manageable” backlog of 10 percent, according to the report.

Smith said the primary objective should be to maintain a PCI well above 60 with a backlog below 10 percent for the entire roadway system.

IMS is recommending the use of a full array of rehabilitation strategies, reviewed on an annual basis.

“A steady, effective rehabilitation and maintenance on an annual basis saves the town money over deferred maintenance,” the report states.

IMS is recommending the town resurvey the streets every few years to update the condition data, analysis models and rehab program.

Investment

According to the IMS study, Fountain Hills has an investment of roughly $200 million in its transportation facilities. That includes pavement, subgrade/base, drainage, sidewalks and ramps, signs and striping and landscaping, along with miscellaneous items.

That is a value of $1.23 million per mile, making streets the single largest town asset.

There are 163 center line miles of town-owned streets in Fountain Hills. That equates to 3.6 million square yards of pavement – enough to build a road from here to the New Mexico state line.